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The Nature and Operation of Implementation Intentions

Whereas goal intentions specify what one wants to do or achieve (i.e., "I intend to achieve X!"), implementation intentions specify the behavior that one will perform in the service of goal attainment and the situational context in which one will enact it, in the format of an if-then plan (i.e., "If situation Y occurs, then I will initiate goal-directed response Z!"). Implementation intentions are subordinate to goal intentions because, whereas a goal intention specifies what one will do, an implementation intention only spells out the when, where, and how of what one will do.

Forming Implementation Intentions

Identifying response and critical cues. To form an implementation intention, the person must first identify a response that is instrumental for goal attainment and, second, anticipate a critical cue to initiate that response. For example, the person might specify the behavior "perform breast self-examination" and specify a situational cue "just before I leave the shower tomorrow morning" in order to enact the goal intention of detecting possible breast cancer. Implementation intention formation is the mental act of linking an anticipated critical situation with an effective goal-directed response. An association is formed between mental representations of specified cues (opportune or critical situations) and means of attaining goals (cognitive or behavioral responses) in an act of will.

Heightening accessibility of cues. The mental links created by implementation intentions facilitate goal attainment on the basis of psychological processes that relate to both the anticipated situation (the if-part of the plan) and the intended behavior (the then-part of the plan). Because forming an implementation intention implies the selection of a critical future situation, the mental representation of this situation becomes highly activated, and hence more accessible (Gollwitzer, 1999xClose
Gollwitzer, P. M. (1999). Implementation intentions: Strong effects of simple plans. American Psychologist, 54, 493-503.). This heightened accessibility of the if-part of the plan was demonstrated in several studies (e.g., Aarts, Dijksterhuis, & Midden, 1999xClose
Aarts, H., Dijksterhuis, A., & Midden, C. (1999). To plan or not to plan? Goal achievement or interrupting the performance of mundane behaviors. European Journal of Social Psychology, 29, 971-979.; Parks-Stamm, Gollwitzer, & Oettingen, 2007xClose
Parks-Stamm, E. J., Gollwitzer, P. M., & Oettingen G. (2007). Action control by implementation intentions: Effective cue detection and efficient response initiation. Social Cognition, 25, 248-266.; Webb & Sheeran, in press, 2007xClose
Webb, T. L., & Sheeran, P. (2007). How do implementation intentions promote goal attainment? A test of component processes. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 43, 295-302.) and means that people are in a good position to identify and take notice of the critical cue when they subsequently encounter it (e.g., Webb & Sheeran, 2004xClose
Webb, T. L., & Sheeran, P. (2004). Identifying good opportunities to act: Implementation intentions and cue discrimination. European Journal of Social Psychology, 34, 407-419.). For instance, participants who formed implementation intentions to collect a coupon were faster to recognize words related to location of the coupon (e.g., corridor, red door) compared to participants who only formed the goal intentions to collect the coupon; and implementation intention participants also were more likely to collect the coupon subsequently.

Strategic automaticity of response. Studies also indicate that implementation intention formation forges a strong association between the specified opportunity and the specified response (Webb & Sheeran, in press, 2007xClose
Webb, T. L., & Sheeran, P. (2007). How do implementation intentions promote goal attainment? A test of component processes. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 43, 295-302.). The upshot of these strong links is that the initiation of the goal-directed response specified in the if-then plan becomes automated, that is, exhibits features of automaticity including immediacy, efficiency, and redundancy of conscious intent (Bargh, 1994xClose
Bargh, J. A. (1994). The four horsemen of automaticity: Awareness, efficiency, intention, and control in social interaction. In R. S. Wyer, Jr., & T. K. Srull (Eds.), Handbook of social cognition (2nd ed., pp. 1-40). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.). The idea is that people do not have to deliberate anymore about when and how they should act when they have formed an implementation intention—unlike people who have formed mere goal intentions. Evidence that if-then planners act quickly (Gollwitzer & Brandstätter, 1997xClose
Gollwitzer, P. M., & Brandstätter, V. (1997). Implementation intentions and effective goal pursuit. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73, 186-199., Experiment 3), deal effectively with cognitive demands (Brandstätter, Lengfelder, & Gollwitzer, 2001xClose
Brandstätter, V., Lengfelder, A., & Gollwitzer, P. M. (2001). Implementation intentions and efficient action initiation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 81, 946-960.), and do not need to consciously intend to act at the critical moment (Sheeran, Webb, & Gollwitzer, 2005xClose
Sheeran, P., Webb, T. L., & Gollwitzer, P. M. (2005). The interplay between goal intentions and implementation intentions. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 31, 87-98., Study 2) is consistent with this idea.

These component processes of implementation intentions (enhanced cue accessibility, automatization of responding) mean that if-then planners are in a good position both to see and to seize good opportunities to move towards their goals. Fashioning an if-then plan strategically automates goal striving (Gollwitzer & Schaal, 1998xClose
Gollwitzer, P. M., & Schaal, B. (1998). Metacognition in action: The importance of implementation intentions. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 2, 124-136.) because people delegate control of goal-directed behaviors to pre-selected situational cues with the express purpose of reaching their goals—automatic action initiation originates in an act of will (if-then planning). But does the strategic automaticity in implementation intentions enable people to deal effectively with self-regulatory problems in goal striving (failing to get started, getting derailed) and increase rates of goal attainment? Findings from a recent meta-analysis (Gollwitzer & Sheeran, 2006xClose
Gollwitzer, P. M., & Sheeran, P. (2006). Implementation intentions and goal achievement: A meta-analysis of effects and processes. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 38, 69-119.) suggest that this is the case.